Secrets to My Heart
by Broken-Wings1997
Summary: REWRITTEN: Zoey's feeling alone again. Scott wants to make up for wronging so many people and to stop feeling like a criminal everywhere he goes. Will they come to each others aid? IF YOU DON'T LIKE THE PAIRING DON'T READ AND LEAVE HATE. Rating may change.
1. Something Strange

Zoey generally loved winter. She loved the way the snow fell, covering the grass in a large, white blanket. She also loved how ice would wrap itself around tree branches and the gutters of her house. On days like this, she'd sit in her living room -where there was a nice little windowed nook- with some hot chocolate, a good movie -preferably something fluffy and christmasy- while she scrolled through tumblr. So of course, she wasn't pleased to be spending christmas eve at one of Chris McLame's 'I got another Gemmie!' parties.

The final four from all of the seasons had been 'invited' to attend, which meant 'you have a contract, I own you, so you kinda have to come'. So far, she'd seen Gwen and Duncan making out in a back hallway, Owen raping the buffet table, Sierra suffocating Cody in a corner, while Beth and Cameron seemed to be having some idle nerd discussions. She stood awkwardly against a wall, clearly out of her comfort zone. She rubbed her one leg against the back of the other. She tugged at her white dress that came down 5 fingers above the knee; she thought it was too short. She would occasionally be startled by a stray curl that her father had insisted on putting in her hair.

She looked in the doorway, seeing Lightning walk it, a large, proud grin plastered on his face, as he was swarmed with tabloid scum. She rolled her eyes at the scene. Zoey jumped, noticing one of so called 'scum' had set their gaze on her. '_shit_'. She saw no escape route, accepting her fate. "Zoey! Can I get a word with you!" The plastic looking woman exclaimed.

"Yeah sure." She groaned as the woman had finally closed in on her pray, getting in the redheads face with a tape recorded. She put on her best 'nice to meet you' face.

"So, how's life been after the show?" the woman clicked the little red button on the recorded, signaling the start, while she waved for her camera man to start getting pictures. Zoey didn't think that a stupid game show would make them 'famous'.

"It's been fine I guess."

"Oh, so you must be pretty popular at home now?"

"N-not really. Everyone's still pretty self involved." She pushed the fake looking woman away from her, jumping when she was the flash from the camera.

"Oh so you get bullied?" The woman smirked. FLASH. Zoey was feeling overwhelmed.

"N-no. I-"

"How about you and Mike?"

"What about-"

"Are you still together?" Before she knew it, the redhead was feeling dizzy, trying to get over the anxiety she was feeling. Suddenly, she could see it. A familiar freckled smirk heading in her direction. The ginger walked over, wrapping an arm around the girl. He leaned down so only she could hear him.

"Play along and I'll get you out of here." She nodded at the request and scott looked up at the slimey woman. "Chris need to talk to us." He placed his hand on Zoey's lower back, guiding her away.

"Scott and Zoey sneaking off? Get a picture of that, will ya?"

Scott pulled Zoey out of the main room and into one of the large hallways. She breathed heavily, overwhelmed and anxious tears filling the corners of her eyes. "Hey, calm down."

"What the heck, Scott?" She whimpered.

"Wha-"

"Your hand was WAY too close to my butt!" She gave him a pouty looking face and he chuckled. "Why'd you help me?"

"I dunno, guess I spent all evening dodging these people and thought I'd help out an old 'friend." He explained. She rolled her eyes at him. They stood there silently for a couple minutes, before Scott slid down the wall, patting the spot next to him for her. She examined him for a second, feeling there was no harm in just sitting. Once on the ground, she looked at him pale face, curious.

"So what are you still doing here?"

"Well, after the trauma chair, my pappy sued McLean and got me a special surgery-"

"No, I mean HERE, with me. You know, in the hallway."

"Oh. Well, I figured we'd catch up, considering we've both been alone all evening. I thought you could use some company." She nodded. She had been pretty alone all evening, hell, she would take Lightnings company if she had to.

"Alright. So what's new?" She attempted at small talk.

"My family just moved, trying to start over, and we also had some extra money after my surgery, so we moved into a little farm house about 30 minutes from here."

"Wait, 30 minutes? You mean Earlton, don't you?"

"Yeah, that's it." She looked horror struck. His smile grew wide once he had realized that's where she was from. "So, I guess we're neighbors now, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess so." She sighed. The one person who had caused her so much torment was now living in her town. There were only a few schools in her town and only one high school. She placed her face in her hands, taking in a deep breath.

"So hows multiple Mike?" He questioned, trying to break the tension.

"He's fine, I guess." She turned to Scott, who was giving a 'you guess?' expression.

"Well, we don't really talk much any more. He said it upsets the 'others'."

"Oh." He hadn't known how to respond to that.

"You don't need to fake be nice to me." She hissed. Her whole demeanor had become extremely hostile. He raised an eyebrow, feeling a bit hurt.

"Oh wow, me, fake?" He said sarcastically. "I have nothing to gain here by faking sweetheart."

"You had nothing to gain by faking the first time!" She began raising her voice. "You didn't have much to gain from getting my friends kicked off, or being so mean. Maybe if you had played fair, you could have won!"

"Says the girl who crushed me with a fucking boulder."

"That has nothing to do with this and you know it. Besides, that boulder was originally meant for Chef. My second obstacle just happened to be there." She scoffed.

"Oh, I'm sorry I voted of your crazy boyfriend."

"That's not even the biggest issue here." Her tone softened, while she stood up and prepared to walk away.

"Then what is, Zoey? What's the BIG problem?" He furrowed his brow, feeling agitated.

"You used me." She whispered. "You pretended to be my friend and then you stomped on that. I thought... I just thought you were actually me friend. Being a girl who grew up with no friends and finally feeling like I got one was kind of a big deal." That was the moment when he had really realized what he had done to this girl.

"But, it was a competition." He started. "We weren't there to make friends."

"That's why I was there." Zoey could feel hot tears sliding down her face. She had finally gotten out what she had been feeling since she left the island. Her silent tears soon turned into hysterical sobbing. He wasn't good at comforting people, so he figured he'd just do it how people in the movies did it. He walked over to her, pulling her closely -a bit awkwardly- and rubbing her back.

"I'm sorry." She was shocked by his gesture. "When I was there, I honestly did care about anyone's feelings. Just the money. But now everywhere I go, I look like a criminal." He was surprised that she had yet to fight his embrace. Instead, she gripped his shirt in her small hands, balling it up with every frustrated sob. "We both probably feel pretty alone right now. We may not be best buds, but it's nice to have someone."

She wanted to still be mad at him. She wanted to yell and tell him he was full of shit, but she was no good at being angry. She was far too forgiving and working things out with him might end in all of her anger finally disappearing. He was obviously just as frustrated and alone as she was. She pushed away, looking into his blue eyes.

"Ok. I accept."

"Good." He chuckled. "I think we should go get a bite to eat, I can't tell if the food at the buffet was winking or bubbling." She gave him an agreeing nod of the head. "So, who's driving?"

"I took the bus here." She stated.

"You took the bus all the way here?" She nodded. "From Earlton?" Another nod.

"Ok. Then I guess I'm driving." He pulled his his keys out of the pocket of his black jacket. She didn't notice until now that he was dressed rather nicely. Scott was wearing a black suit with a light blue shirt and a black tie. It was simple, but made his eyes pop. "Hey Zoey, I know I'm gorgeous, but you don't have to stare." Her face turned red and she scrunched up her nose at his comment.

-

After they had spent the rest of their evening at one of those kids pizza places, Scott offered to drive Zoey home. He looked at the clock in his truck, seeing it was already midnight.  
They had finally gotten back to Earlton. "So where do you live?" He asked. No answer.

He turned and saw she was passed out, head against the window, eyes shut, while her hair had somehow managed to stay put all evening. She kinda looked like a doll to him. Fair skin, large eyes, red lips. Though most dolls were blonde and had blue eyes. He sighed, not knowing what to do. If he woke her up, she'd probably hit him where it hurt. His pappy always told him, 'Scotty, ladies need their beauty sleep. You wake em up and It'll be the end of ya." He groaned, not knowing what to do. It was a tough decision, but for the sake of his kiwis he made one.


	2. Crying

Zoey's eyes fluttered open to the sound of her phone's low buzz. She groanded, picked it up, and looked at the caller ID. _Mike_. "Hello?" She yawned.

"Zoey! Where are you? We were supposed to meet for lunch an hour ago." She gasped at the sound of the worried boy. Shooting up, she finally took in her unfamiliar surroundings.

"I'm so sorry mike. I had the biggest headache and I guess I slept in. Can I maybe rain check?"

"Yeah, you just get some rest." He hung up first and she was finally ready to examine everything. Last night she was out. With Scott. She looked at the many pictures all over the wall, obvious his and 'Pappy's' hunting trips. The walls were a greyish blue color, while the bed she was currently resting in had white sheets, a green blanket, and two pillows. The floor was wood and she found her shoes laying next to the bed.

Where was Scott? The door opened, while the ginger boy peeked his head inside. "Oh good you're awa-" He was cut off when the redhead threw a pillow at his head. "Hey!"

"What am I doing here Scott?" She exclaimed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You were out cold last night and I didn't want to wake you, so I just brought you back here." He explained. "You're a REALLY heavy sleeper." That statement put images in Zoey's head of him bumping her into walls, or dropping her, or even poking at her while she slept.

"And you?! Where did you sleep?" She scrunched up her nose, while he turned away, his face somewhat red. She looked at the bed to see the blankets flipped in a way that showed someone else had been there.

"You were crying in your sleep. The only way I could calm you down was to, uh" He paused, not knowing how to finish. "Hold you? I guess thats how you could describe it."

"Oh." She groaned, burying her face in her hands. "What the hell is wrong with me?" She rhetorically asked.

"I don't know. Why don't you tell me?" He asked. She rolled her eyes a bit. "I'm sorry I brought you back here."

"It fine. It's the best I've slept in a while." She stretched her limbs, continuing to look around. "So, we're friends now, huh?" She laughed. He nodded followed by a 'guess so'. "It's weird, but since we're not competing, I don't hate you right now."

"Yeah, no point in ruining someones life if I have nothing to gain. You're alright red." He sat on the bed next to her. "But the sleep crying's a bit weird. What's that all about, huh?" She shook her head.

"I don't even know."

"I heard you on the phone with Multiple Mike." He laughed. "Sorry for screwin' up your little date." She shrugged. Her eyes finally settled on the boy in front of her. There was no condescending smirk, no malicious gleam in his blue eyes. He seemed geuin. She couldn't explain what allowed her to sit here and have a conversation with him without getting angry. She didn't really care.

"Scott, I-" she stopped, pursing her lips and trying to think. "I'm sorry I crushed you with a bolder. And laughed at you."

"I uh, thanks. I kinda deserved it though."

"That doesn't matter, hurting people isn't like me. No matter how mad I get at someone, I never stoop so low." Her words sank in his head. Was this 'guilt' welling up inside of him. Normally he only did things for his own benefit. He apologized to her so HE wouldn't feel bad or alone. Now he was feeling like he needed to apologize so she wouldn't feel bad.

"Are you hungry? I mean, it's like 2 in the afternoon and neither of us have eaten." She hadn't noticed how late it was.

"Yeah, but what about your parents?" She asked.

"They're away on some ice fishing trip. Probably won't be back till next weekend." He explained.

"Oh ok." Zoey looked around, feeling extremely uncomfortable. "This sounds weird, but this dress is bothering me. Do you have something I can change into?" He pondered it for a second. All of his pants would probably be too long on her. Pappy's would probably just fall of her and his mom took all of her warm clothes with her.

"I'll be right back." He walked into his parent's room, fishing through the dresser. The only thing his mother had left were her summer shorts, a few sundresses, t-shirts, tank tops, and nightgowns. He frowned at the clothes in front of him. His mom had a case of 'I'm 40 and my body's still kickin, so I'll wear as little clothing as possible' syndrom. He pulled out a pair of her yoga shorts, walked back to his room, and pulled out the largest t-shirt he could find. "Here try these. I'm sorry about the shorts, my mom's weird."

She examined the clothes as they landed next to her. "This is probably the sorta thing I'd wear around my own house. Doesn't bother me. He nodded at her looking around awkwardly. "Uh, Scott?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you gonna go so I can change?"

"Oh yeah sorry." When he stepped out of the room, she quickly changed. The shorts barely peeked out of the bottom of the shirt. Zoey sighed, not really caring, and threw her hair back in a ponytail. She opened the door, seeing the ginger boy still awkwardly looking around. He was a mastermind at manipulation, but she never expected him to act so nervous alone with a girl.

The car ride back home felt far shorter than Zoey had wanted. She didn't really want to go home, since nobody would be there. She wouldn't tell Scott that though. Once his green truck pulled into her driveway, she prepared to open the door before here a "Wait". She cocked her head to side in confusion.

"Thanks for uh, hanging out with me." Scott said and somewhat sheepish smile crossing his freckled face.

"No problem." She reached into her purse, pulled out a little notepad and pen, and handed them to him. "You can write down your phone number, I mean, if you want to." He complied, scribbling down his cell phone number and handing her items back to her.

"If you're ever bored, you know where to find me."

"I get bored a lot, so don't make those kind of promises." She chuckled. "Well, bye." She said. He waved a goodbye to her and watched as she left, making sure she got into her house ok. Once inside, Zoey looked around at her somewhat empty house. Nobody was home, as usual. She walked into the kitchen to see a note sitting on the counter.

_Zoey_  
_You're mom has a chemo session today, probably won't be home for a couple days_

_Love_  
_Dad_

She sighed and sat at one of the stools in front of the counter. This is why she didn't want to come home. There was no escaping reality at home. She pulled out her cell phone and realized that her dad had sent her a text about her mom's chemo last night. She pulled out her notepad and added Scott's number to her contacts. What was happening? Had things really become this weird?

She flipped through her contacts and came to Mike's number, hitting the call button.

"Hello?"

"Hey Mike! I was wondering if you wanted to come over?" She asked.

"Yeah I'll be over in about an hour, is that alright?"

"Yeah, it's fine." Once she hung up the phone she decided she need to take a shower and clear her head before she started seeing everything the wrong way.


	3. It Begins

**Kinda short chapter today. I just wanted to thank you guys for the positive feedback. It means A LOT. Well, Onto chapter 3 I supposed. Remember, this will probably be a mike/zoey/scott triangle, so if that bothers you, nobody's making you read this. **

Scott was laying on his bed, face planted in his pillow, and awaiting a call he didn't know why he wished would come. He sighed. What the fuck is wrong with me? He had finally had a night that made him feel human and it was gone as quick as it came. He gazed at his phone, wondering if she would actually contact him.

Zoey felt like the day had been going unbelievably slow. She walked back to the kitchen and opened the fridge, trying to think of what she would make for dinner, since it was already five o'clock. She jumped as the doorbell rang, putting her current task aside. Zoey opened the door and saw the large gap toothed smile of her boyfriend. "Hey Zo." He chirped, walking into her house.

"Hey." She responded, a yawn escaping with the casual greeting. "So, I thought we'd watch a movie tonight, if you're ok with that, of course." She laughed softly. He smiled at her, placing a hand on her head and running his lanky fingers through some of her red hair.

"You know you don't always have to be so careful about what other people want, I mean 'if that's ok with you'." He joked. She gave him a slight pouty lip and a playful look out of the corner of her eye. They walked into the living room, Mike sitting down, while she did a jump onto the couch, laying next to him. "So how were the Gemmies?" He asked.

"Boring. I'm pretty sure Chris let Chef do the cooking." Mike made a twisted 'ew' face at the thought. "I uh, I saw Scott."

"Oh. Well how was that?" He hadn't really known what 'i saw Scott' implied. Like if it went well, or was a disaster.

"It was kinda nice. He apologized and stuff. He lives in my town now." She explained.

"Great. Scott lives a total of five minutes away from you and I have to drive an hour to get here." He frowned. She mirrored his expression and he sighed. "I'm sorry, I just don't trust him."

"No I understand. It's ok." She leaned her head up, laying a small kiss on his lips. "Let's not talk about this, k?" He nodded in response, leaning down and giving her a longer kiss in return. "Oh! Dinner! What do you want? I can make something?"

"Why don't we just order a pizza? You always cook when I come over, so I think you should take some time to just relax."

"Ohhhh so my cookings bad now, huh?" She asked playfully. He chuckled. pulling out his phone and ordering a pizza. Afterwards, they watched as many dumb action movies as possible before Zoey had finally felt herself dozing off from exhaustion.

"You look tired, should I leave?" She shook her head and nuzzled into his chest.

"Nah, it's a long drive, so you can just stay over." She hummed. She was being a lot more affectionate than she had been in a while. She'd never invited him to sleep over before. He accepted the offer and adjusted so that they could lay down and properly get some sleep.

"Good night."

Scott couldn't sleep that night. His conscience was getting the better of him. He was alone. He supposed he deserved it for what he did in the past. He looked at the clock and after laying in bed and staring at the ceiling for so long, it was already 7 A.M. "Fuck." He rolled out of bed, running his fingers through his orange hair. His phone began buzzing and he picked it up, disappointed at his mothers voice.

"Scotty? Are you there?"

"Yeah Ma, I'm here." He sighed,

"Oh! Ok! Well, your cousin Leroy is coming down here for a while, so we might be gone a little longer than expected."

"Ok Ma."

"Ok bye baby, Mommy loves you."

"Love you too." He hung up the phone and looked at the screen. At the bottom corner there was a tiny yellow envelope. "A text?" He opened it seeing a casual 'hey', but the name in blue letters is what got him excited. Zoey had decided to text him. Nobody ever texted him except his mom and this was oddly making him happy. He responded with the same casual 'hey' and waited for a reply.

'What's up?' was the next thing to come through. He just gave her a 'nothing much'. It may not had been too much of a conversation, but it was something. Something to keep him occupied and to stop him from feeling so bad. 'I'm kinda bored'. Those words set a fire off in his head. He contemplated asking her to hang out, but decided the make her work for it. 'oh? Why not hang out with the multiple?' 'he was just here. it's an hour long drive fro him back home' .

A wide smirk crossed his freckled face. 'that's too bad' he replied. He set his phone down, think that would end up making her stop texting him. He thought that's what happened till about ten minutes later his phone buzzed. 'I was wondering if you wanted to hang out'. Those were the words he needed.


End file.
